Storm breaches California river's levee, thousands evacuate

A Northern California agricultural community famous for its strawberry crop has been forced to evacuate after the Pajaro River’s levee was breached by flooding from a new atmospheric river that pummeled the state. Across the Central Coast’s Monterey County, more than 8,500 people were under evacuation orders and warnings Saturday, including roughly 1,700 from the unincorporated community of Pajaro, where many residents are farmworkers. First responders and the California National Guard rescued more than 50 people from Pajaro. A local official called it “the worst case scenario.” Crews began working to fix the levee around daybreak Saturday. The storm marked the state’s 10th atmospheric river of the winter.